My Final Challenge ~ Level One AECP~ Masculine Cards

Hello Crafty Friends! It's been awhile since I posted because I have been SUPER BUSY creating awesome cards for my final challenge in the Level One AECP! You may want to grab a cup of coffee (or wine) as I have lots to teach you!

Here is the Challenge I received!

• Create a His and Her set of a variety of cards (minimum set of 4 cards)

• Each set had to be cohesive in theme/color.

• Select any 3 components from Level One ( I used about 6! The Altenew Classes are superb)

• Make your own card box packaging for your gift set.

• Use a recycled item on either the cards or packaging.

Challenge accepted! Here is the set of cards I made for Him! To see my set of Feminine Cards, here is the link: https://www.thelittlecraftcorner.com/post/level-one-final-challenge-~-feminine-card-set

The hardest part for me in the Masculine set was choosing a color theme as I had so many ideas swirling in my head.

I started googling masculine color combos...I was immediately in love the moment I saw this combo! What popped in my head were the ink colors of #Altenew misty morning, cloudy sky, nimbus and dark night! And I'm partial to orange as this is my son's favorite color!

Tip 1: When working on a big project, plan, sort, organize and sketch.

when you can see the end result in mind, it allows your creative mind to flow!

The components I used for the cards

were:

• Celebration Stencil Techniques

• For the Boys

• Let it Shine!

• Irresistible Ink Techniques

So Let's Dive in! Here is the Entire Masculine Set!

The first two cards were made with the Cube Cover Die. I took the die cut and turned it into a stencil! I love how we can extend the use of a full cover die! It's like 2 for 1! I adhered the stencil to a card base and gently used the ink blending techniques. Once I removed the stencil, Voila! I had the base for my second card! The Tall Alpha Die Set went perfectly to create my sentiments!

This is the actual stencil that was ink blended. The Letters were cut out using black glitter paper and then I tapped a bit of shimmer to make it grungy.

Peeling off the stencil is kinda magical as you see another image! My boys ( I have 5 sons) often use the term "Wassup!!" so naturally I had to make this card. When I paired #Altenew's adhesive wood veneers along with the circle die cuts, the card just came to life! I felt like the inner circle had a leather feel to it! Very Masculine don't you think?

TIP: Keep all the die cut letters on the adhesive packaging and run the entire alphabet thru the die cut machine multiple times to mass produce your letters. So much easier than spelling out each word!

Very easy to mass produce alphabet sets! Then you have extras for later cards!

In one of the classes, I was introduced to a brayer (which btw I have had in my drawer just collecting dust) so I put it to good use! Then the lightbulb went off! Wait! I have a gel press too! Oh happy days! Using a brayer with a gel press will give you a very artsy technique and no 2 cards will be the same! I just love that idea! A true original! I took the Sohcohtoa Stamp Set to create triangles of many sizes.

TIP: After I positioned all the triangles on my card, I used a soft tack tape to pick them up as one unit, added liquid adhesive to back of triangles and gently laid back on card.

For the above image, I took the orange and blue inks and directly applied the inks to the press. I then took the brayer and just spread horizontal, so as not to make a muddy brown mess. ( what I did not show you were the mistake cards of brown mud..hahaha!

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For the card above, I used the same inks but instead of SPREADING the inks, I dabbed the inks onto the gel press. By ACCIDENT, I FORGOT TO USE THE BRAYER, but wound up liking the end result as it looked like confetti for a congratulatory occasion! To finish off the card, I added a bit of shimmer and cut a few banners. The sentiment was cut in black glitter paper, and offset with a white background.

I just love to ink blend! that along with stenciling are my two favorite techniques! For the last two cards, I was going for a more "Sentimental feel" "Soft Feel". To begin with these cards, I used the 3 D cloud embossing folder and gently inked the clouds with cloudy sky. I then added the vertical blended strip, and added the sentiment and hearts.

TIP: When inkblending a strip, lay your white cardstock on a grid, so you alignment is straight. Using low tack tape, mask off the areas you don't want colored. Then just go town by blending the colors! REMEMBER! Take it slow~blending inks should be relaxing not a race...after inking the blending brush, start the blend OFF the page so as not to leave a harsh line on your finished project!

Last up for the set is the sympathy card, using similar techniques of ink blending, but adding a rougher look. When I stamped the Paint a Flower Coral Sunset , my hand shifted in the process and I was left with a bit of blurriness! OH NO! But all crafters can alter the card to make it work right? So I then took an alcohol marker and blended in the lines best I could. A little bling , a little dabble of colors in the flowers and my sentiment and my last card was finished!

Now it was time to make the gift box packaging! I found an old clear card box in my drawer and began to alter the box by using the same cardstock paper that I used for a few of my cards. Using my Scor-pal, I made a few embossed lines so the paper wrapping would be tight around the box.

Keeping in line with the color theme, I stamped a few triangles on an ink blended strip (see! I told you I like to ink blend!) and adhered to box. I then added some craft wire that I found in my junk drawer and added a tag I found in my stash to make the packaging complete!

I learned SO much from this challenge and from Altenew's Educator Level One Classes! I hope I inspired you to try these techniques out for yourself! Hugs! ~Jennifer